Decorating Our Christmas Tree

I have no memory of a Christmas tree that was not adorned with this cherished bell ornament.

When I was a little girl, my mother made one of these bells for every member of our family. When I married and started decorating our little tree, my mother gave me my bell and she made another one for my husband. She has since made one for each of our children too.

Photo by Sylvestermouse

Several years ago now, my daughter brought a friend home from school to spend Christmas with our family. Apparently, she had been telling her friend all about the wonderful, magical Christmas that we always shared. On the trip home, she regaled her friend with tales about the fabulous food which always included pumpkin pie, coconut cake and homemade divinity. She told about the mountain of gifts always waiting under the tree and the most important ornaments adorning the tree. I had no idea these things were so important to her!

Photo by Sylvestermouse

Since our daughter and son were both so busy with school activities and with my husband working extra long hours, I found myself at home alone a lot that year. When it came time to decorate, I wondered for whom I was decorating, I guessed me and the dogs, so I took a lot of shortcuts. One of my shortcuts was simply not putting out all of the decorations that covered every available tabletop and putting about half of the regular ornaments on the tree. Everything still looked festive and fine until the moment my daughter and her guest stepped through the door. They set down their bags and immediately went to the tree. Oh, yes, the pile of gifts was there, but as she looked for certain ornaments that she wanted to show her friend, it became increasingly obvious that I was about to be found out. Yikes! I didn't think anyone would notice.

Well, let me tell you, I was definitely wrong! She noticed alright. My first real concern came when she called out "Hey Mom, where is the Cratchet family". I didn't even know she liked that Mickey Mouse family! She showed off her favorite Belvedere Reindeer. Thankfully I have always known that was her favorite ornament, so he was never on the cutting board. Then she said, "Wait, where is my carousel tiger"? I held my breath. I couldn't remember if he had made the cut or not. What had I been thinking? Did I really think my family wouldn't notice some of the ornaments missing?

Photo by Sylvestermouse

I distracted them and the search, by asking my daughter to show her guest to her room and suggesting they wash up for dinner. I quickly went into action. I did something I never thought I would do. I ventured into the attic alone with a flashlight. I searched for the missing mouse family and the tiger. Eureka! I found them quickly enough, climbed out of the dark attic and ran back to the tree. Oh, yeah, I was singing Christmas carols when they returned. After dinner, I nonchalantly pointed out the ornaments she had been looking for earlier. I smiled like the grinch who stole Christmas when she said "Oh, I don't know how I missed those earlier".

When my son came home later that evening, he looked at the tree in passing. Then he stopped and looked at it carefully. "Where is my spider?" Ok, there was no way around that one. My "photographic memory" son knew what he had seen and what he had not seen and he didn't have a friend to distract him. No doubt, I was 15 different shades of red when I meekly said "the spider was waiting for you to put him on the tree."

Back to the attic, but this time I didn't have to go alone. We retrieved the spider and my son placed him on the tree. It is now a tradition. Every year, when every other ornament is on the tree, my son places the spider on the tree in its prominent place.

While I still cut back on the tabletop decorations, I never leave off an ornament. After all, the children are watching!

I made this spider at least 15 years ago. My son loves this spider. I have offered to make him a new one, but he wants to keep this one.

It is faded and the silver is even rubbed off in a few spots, but our tree would not be finished without it.

It always waits to be placed on the tree by my son when he gets home for Christmas.

Photo by Sylvestermouse

A long, long time ago, a gentle mother was busily cleaning the house for the most wonderful day of the year ... Christmas Day. Not a speck of dust was left anywhere. Even the little spiders had been banished from their cozy corner high up on the ceiling. To avoid the housewife's busy cleaning, they finally fled to the farthest corner of the forgotten attic.

Finally, it was Christmas Eve. The tree was decorated and the children delighted. But the poor spiders were frantic, for they could not see the tree, nor be present for the magic of the season. The oldest and wisest spider suggested that perhaps they could wait until everyone had gone to bed and then sneak through the crack in the door to see the wonders of the tree. The little spiders silently and carefully came down out of their attic corner and across the floor to wait in the crack on the threshold.

Pretty soon all was quiet, so the spiders quickly crept into the room. The tree towered so high that they couldn't see the ornaments on top. In fact, the little spiders' eyes were so small that they could only see one ornament at a time. They all scurried up the trunk, out along each branch, filled with a happy wonder at the glittering beauty. The spiders loved the Christmas tree. All night long, they danced in the branches, and every place they went left a trail of dusty, gray web. When at last they had inspected every bit of the Christmas tree, it was shrouded in the dusty gray of spider webs.

Santa smiled as he thought of the happy spiders seeing the tree and how much they liked it, but he also thought of how sad the little mother would be over the dusty tree. He reached out his hand -- and just then the sun came through the window and touched the tree. All the webs started to sparkle and shine turning into shimmering, sparkling silver and gold. The tree glistened in greater beauty than ever before!

According to legend, ever since this happened, people have hung tinsel on their Christmas trees.It has also become a custom to include a spider among the decorations on the Christmas tree.

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Since my sister does not like to sew and actually would claim that she can not sew, I consider myself fortunate indeed to have this pair of ornaments. She made them for me when my children were very young. She knew how they liked to play with the Christmas tree ornaments and she wanted them to have some they could hold without risk of breaking.

Photo by Sylvestermouse

I still place them on the bottom level of the tree every year, just like that first year. Now, of course, instead of reaching up, they would have to lean down to play with them:)

Every year I place these ornaments on the tree in remembrance of my grandmother who gave me one each year for Christmas.

I usually place them toward the back so they are not in danger of being knocked off and broken.

It would be impossible for me to choose a favorite from this group.

Photo by Sylvestermouse

Any time I see raccoons, I think of my father. My dad has a backyard full of wildlife and every night he feeds them. Not only that, they know him. When he goes out with the food, the raccoons come out to see him. Some of them know him so well he can pat their heads like you would a dog.

He also feeds a ton of birds, a few opossums and a couple of chipmunks too, but it is the raccoons who claim him as their father.

This ornament was a gift from him and is a family favorite.

Photo by Sylvestermouse

When our son was in grade school he had to wear a tie for their Christmas program. Well, we were definitely in trouble. My husband was at work and neither of us knew how to tie a tie.

I looked up instructions on the Internet. Gratefully, there were pictures, and after a couple of tries, we had his tie tied.

When I spotted this ornament in the store, I had to have it.

I think they made it just for us!

Photo by Sylvestermouse

I honestly can't say why this is one of my favorite ornaments.

Perhaps it is simply because it is a bear and I love bears. Perhaps it is because it was a gift from my sister or perhaps it is because it reminds me of one of my mother's childhood toys.

I don't know exactly why, but I know my little bear is one of my favorite ornaments.

Photo by Sylvestermouse

When our children were little, they loved the video The Tale of the Bunny Picnic.

My husband memorized the story of the Giant Hedgehog and he frequently re-told it to our children. As a result, we all started referring to him as the Giant Hedgehog.

Thus, every time we find a hedgehog ornament, we buy it for him.

Photo by Sylvestermouse

When we were growing up, my mother bought most of the family gifts. This gift is special because my oldest brother picked it out for me. I know for sure he picked it out and bought it because he no longer lived in the same house or even the same state as my mother, and it was definitely his signature on the package.

I still giggle every year as I hang this ornament, and I think about my 6' 4" tall single brother standing in line at the local drug store purchasing a doll ornament for his youngest sister.

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I have 5 siblings and each time one of them married, the dynamics of our family changed drastically.

As everybody knows, there is no guarantee that new members of the family will get along with everyone.

When my youngest brother married, his wife just seemed to fit into our family. They have now been married for almost 18 years, but if you don't already know, you probably could not tell which one was born into the family by the way we act.

This was a gift many years ago from my youngest brother and his thoughtful wife.

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Four or five years ago, my parents, my husband, my son and I went to Branson, MO to hear Shoji Tabuchi play. We had heard he was an outstanding violinist and we were not disappointed. His show was extremely entertaining.

Photo by Sylvestermouse

During the intermission, we went out to the gift shop in the theater. I browsed around, not really looking for anything and not really wishing to purchase anything. I just needed to stretch my legs a bit, but when I spotted this gorgeous Treetop Angel, I thought I had never seen a more beautiful tree topper. I showed it to my son and he was sweet but didn't appear too interested. When intermission was over we went back to our seats. The angel was long since forgotten, or so I thought.

I have no idea how he did it or when he did it, but my son purchased the angel for me and gave it to me when we got back home. Every year since, she has topped our tree and reminds me of a wonderful vacation, a very special gift, and a very special Christmas message.

So, you see, every ornament has a story from our past. It is a wonderful walk down memory lane each year as I decorate our family tree. Some years it is a little harder to work on our tree. The year after my grandmother died was especially difficult, but I wouldn't take anything for the years that I had to spend with her or the ornaments she gave to me that continue to remind me of our time together.

Oh, well, it might not be a decorator's tree, but it definitely has a theme: Family

Now, that is my idea of a picture perfect tree!

Photo by Sylvestermouse

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Updated: 2/16/12